Don't Wanna Say Goodbye
by Miss Peg
Summary: Bass gets sick and Maura won't leave his side, which means Jane won't leave hers. An alternative answer to the question "where did Bass go?".


**Author Note: I think a lot of people were disappointed with the answer to "where did Bass go?" so this is my version of what happened.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli &amp; Isles, though if someone wants to give me Maura and Jane as a present, I wouldn't say no.**

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She began her morning on her hands and knees, clambering about the living room floor with a strawberry in her hand. Every time she moved forwards, Bass retreated. When she moved quickly he hissed uncontrollably, when she moved slowly he took careful steps backwards. Maura sat back on her feet and watched him carefully. He hadn't eaten anything all morning. Given his voracious appetite, Maura worried what that meant.

"Come on, Bass," she said, holding the strawberry out in front of her. He extended his neck towards the strawberry then pulled it back again with an almighty hiss; the loudest Maura had ever heard. She backed away, fearful of what his unusual mood might result in. "It's me, Maura."

Bass lowered his head to the ground and sunk himself into the spot he'd chosen. Respecting his space was important to Maura, but so was Bass's health. She reached forwards again, the strawberry still her carrot on a stick, and he hissed softly.

"I have to go to work, I'm already late," she said, dropping the strawberry in the bowl of food she'd prepared for him and resting her chin on the ground. "I can't play this game all day. We've been here too many times, you need to eat." He hissed again. "Why are you hissing at me? You know who I am. You know that I love you."

The tortoise closed his eyes. Bass's behaviour broke Maura heart. He'd never hissed at her before, except when she first got him. Discomfort was to be expected given that he was only a baby and his whole world was changing. Now he knew his world. He lived in it daily. He knew who she was.

Maura tried again. She reached a hand out this time, just the tips of her fingers as she brushed them across Bass's head. He made a slow hiss. His whole body began shuddering under her touch. Maura let out a sigh and lowered her hand to the floor. He continued to shake.

"Maybe it's time to call the vet," she said, folding her arms on the ground in front of her and resting her right cheek against them.

"Maura, you in here?"

She rolled onto her back and lay there for a moment. She wasn't ready to address the current issue, let alone explain it to Jane. When she finally stood up, her voice came out in a barely audible whisper. "I'm here."

"What did you say?" Jane's voice grew louder. "What were you doing down there?"

"It's Bass," she said, motioning to the tortoise on the floor. "He's shaking."

Jane's brow furrowed. "Is that normal turtle behaviour?"

"Tortoise." Maura's voice sounded foreign, an unfamiliar bite to her tone. She regretted it instantly, softening it as she spoke again. "It's not normal."

"We had to call Doctor Boring," Jane said, perching on the arm of the couch. "He's not as easy to openly mock."

Business as usual. Maura glanced at her watch, it was later than she realised. Getting ready for work should have been a priority, she just couldn't muster any energy, or enthusiasm for the job.

"You coming?" Jane asked, motioning towards the door. "Case isn't going to solve itself. It's a juicy one, too, no obvious cause of death."

"I can't," said Maura. Her shoulders sunk, her chest ached.

"Why not?"

"Did you not hear me? Bass is sick."

"Come on, Maura," Jane said, moving her hand out in front of her. "My turtle is sick is a bit like saying my dog ate my homework."

"Tortoise," Maura whispered. Jane shrugged her shoulders and waved her hands towards the door. Over the years Maura had put up with being mocked and taunted over her choice of pet. She'd been ridiculed for caring as much about Bass as most people did about dogs. She'd had enough. She didn't mean to raise her voice, but her patience was wearing thin. "He's a tortoise. He's sick. I'm not going anywhere."

The physical release of shouting allowed some of Maura's pent up frustration over Bass to be released. She felt herself relax enough to withstand a little more pressure. She ignored the lines forming on Jane's forehead.

"I'm sorry," Jane said, taking a step towards Maura. She took a step backwards. "Come on, Maur, I was just messing around. I didn't realise it was serious."

"That's the problem," she said, trailing her eyes across the floor between them. "Nobody ever takes it seriously. He's not a canine, he can't bounce back. If I don't follow his eating and drinking habits, or look out for unusual behaviour, he'd have died a long time ago."

"He's not going to die, Maura."

She lifted her gaze up to Jane, allowing herself a moment to scan her face for facial expressions. Blank.

"Forgive me for not believing you but most tortoises die because the people who are supposed to look out for them think they're just a little under the weather. Those that do make it to the vet go to one who specialises in small mammals, resulting the treatments killing them."

Jane looked a little sheepish, she took a couple of steps forwards and reached out, resting a hand on Maura's shoulder. The physical contact exposed Maura's emotions, her shoulder's moved involuntarily, a couple of tears slipping down her cheeks.

"No," said Maura. She shrugged Jane's hand away. "I need to call the vet, can you please leave?"

"Come on, Maura," Jane said, tilting her head to one side, a look of sympathy plastered across her face. "What can I do?"

"I don't have time to think about what _you_ can do," said Maura, walking across the room to retrieve her phone.

"I'll make sure Susie and Doctor Boring know you won't be in for the rest of the day."

"Thank you."

The vet left mid-afternoon and Maura sat on the couch watching Bass carefully. He hadn't moved in a while, except to hiss and crawl away from the vet. Maura tried to feed him again, to no avail. She placed his food on the floor and opted to watch him instead.

By the evening Jane was sitting beside her, watching Bass with as much attention as Maura.

"I could get some take-out," Jane said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Not hungry."

"Not you too, am I going to have to call a doctor?"

Maura frowned at Jane. "Why would I need a doctor?"

"It was a joke, Maura," said Jane. "I'm going to get us some take-out. Did the vet say how long it will take for him to recover from…whatever it is that's wrong?"

"He's running some tests, he thinks it's an infection. We've administered some antibiotics. We just have to wait and see."

"Chinese or Thai?" Maura stared at Jane. The last thing she wanted to deal with was which kind of food they were going to eat. "Thai it is."

When Jane returned from the Thai restaurant a couple of blocks away, Maura was lay on the floor again. The hissing from the morning subsided and Maura rested her face on the floor besides Bass. His head settled contently on top of Maura's hand.

"I hope you're going to wash that," said Jane, placing a paper bag on the kitchen counter. Maura sat up, leaving her hand where it was. She didn't want to disrupt Bass now that he was settled, but her stomach grumbled.

"I'll be right there."

Half a bottle of wine, two beers and a tub of Thai red curry later, Maura's stomach was full. She placed her elbows on the table and rested her face in her hands as she watched Jane expertly scooped the remainder of the curry into her mouth using chopsticks.

"You do realise you're culturally incorrect, don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Chopsticks were first used in China and though other countries geographically close have used them, it's more correct to use a fork and a spoon when eating Thai food."

Jane's lips curled up at the edges. She reached a hand to her mouth and shook her head. The gentle shake of Jane's shoulders suggested laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"Your tortoise is sick, we're sat here eating Thai food and all you can say is that I'm doing it wrong?"

"Well, you were."

"I know, it's just, don't stop being you, Maura."

The mixture of emotions and the alcohol in her system made Maura's eyes water. She brushed a couple of tears away before they could fall. Jane rested a hand over hers and they sat there for a while in silence.

"I should go," said Jane, sliding her hand off of Maura's. "You need some rest."

"I couldn't," said Maura. "Not when Bass is the way he is."

"Then I'll stay."

"No, Jane, you need to go home. You have a case."

Jane raised her eyebrows. "I'm not the only one who needs to sleep, Maura. We'll take shifts. I'll wake you if anything changes."

"Okay."

Giving up control over the situation didn't sit well with Maura, but if there was anyone she trusted to look after Bass, it was Jane. Despite her mocking, she wouldn't want anything to happen to him either. Even if she did think he was a turtle.

After cleaning up the dinner, Jane sat down on the couch beside Maura. They watched Bass for a while until Maura's eyelids grew heavy and her mouth opened in a large yawn.

"Lie down," said Jane. She tried to protest but Jane wasn't having any of it. "You need to rest, for Bass."

She curled her feet up onto the couch, her head resting on Jane's thigh. Having her hair brushed back from her face made her feel like a small child again. It was rare that she cuddled up to her mother, whilst growing up, but when she did it always felt like the most comforting place on Earth. She made a mental note to thank Jane for her kindness. No matter how hard she tried to fight the desire to stay awake, her eyelids drooped. She fought against it, until eventually she gave in and allowed sleep to consume her.

"What time is it?" Maura asked on opening her eyes. She sat up, a blanket slipping from her shoulders. Her eyes were tired, her body ached from the lack of support provided by the couch.

"Just after seven," Jane said, handing her a mug of steaming coffee. She smiled in gratitude and sipped it carefully.

"Why didn't you wake me sooner? Did you get any sleep?"

Jane shook her head. "Bass ate a strawberry."

"He did?" Her face lit up. The small sliver of hope was all that she needed. If Bass was eating again then maybe he would be alright. "Have you tried him on anything else?"

"Nah, he came over and stole it out of the bowl."

"Maybe I should cut up some fresh," Maura started to say but Jane cut her off.

"I prepared some fresh vegetables an hour ago, after he ate the strawberry."

"I guess it's better than nothing," said Maura, placing her coffee on the table and standing up. "I should have a shower before work."

"You want to go in?" Maura nodded. "Alright. Will Bass be okay on his own?"

"He's coming with us."

Jane opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Maura knew that Jane knew there was no point in arguing. It wouldn't be the first time Bass was going to come into the office. At least if he came then she wouldn't miss another day of work, nor would she spend the whole day worrying about the care someone else was giving.

A shower freshened her up, no longer did she have a vague scent of body odour lingering on her skin and she gave her hair a much needed condition. The stream of water splashed against her body. Maura closed her eyes and imagined she was somewhere hot, standing under a waterfall, the water dancing around against the nearby rocks.

The rest of the day she spent cleaning up after Bass, trying to feed him, and attempting to solve the riddle of their victim's cause of death. Doctor Pike had been unsuccessful the day before, leaving a mess in his wake. Her filing cabinet was all out of order and he'd changed the height on her chair.

"Is somebody having a good day at Mommy's office?" Jane cooed, kneeling down beside Bass and scratching the top of his head.

Maura finished tidying up her filing system, smiling at Jane's recent interest in her beloved Bass. She turned her back for just a moment and Jane let out a disgusted screech.

"What is coming out of his butt?"

She walked across the office and leaned over to take a look. Her suspicions were verified. "That is what makes him a he."

"That is disgusting!" said Jane, turning away and sitting down on Maura's desk chair. When she reached under it to make an adjustment, Maura jumped forwards.

"Don't you dare do anything to that chair."

"But it's the wrong height."

"You don't have to sit on it, there's a perfectly good chair over there," she said, pointing across the room. Jane stuck out her bottom lip and slunk across the room to one of the other seats.

Once the cabinet was tidy, Maura did her hourly check on Bass. She looked him over for signs of dehydration. He pulled his head and legs into his shell and stayed that way for a while.

"Do you think he's getting better?" Jane asked.

"It's hard to tell," said Maura. "His last stool sample wasn't in the category normal."

"His poop was runny?"

"Jane! Do you have to be so graphic?"

"Was it or was it not runny?" Jane tilted her head to the side.

"It was."

"Is he peeing?"

Maura's patience was growing thin. She knew the exact state of Bass's bowel movements and intake, she didn't really need to discuss it. "Of course he's been peeing."

"Did he eat anything else?"

"Nothing."

Jane sat down on the floor and crawled across to Bass. She knocked gently on his shell. "Hello? Are you there?"

"Don't do that Jane, he doesn't like it."

"How do you know?" Jane lowered her face to the hole where his head disappeared. "He's got his head in."

"I just know."

"Do you want to take him home?"

"No." What she wanted to do was nurse him back to health as quickly as possible, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. "I don't think we should move him again. It's stressful enough when he's sick. If I keep transporting him it's only going to make him worse."

"I need to get back upstairs, I told Korsak I wouldn't be long. Let me know if you need anything," said Jane. Maura nodded.

The room felt considerably lonelier without Jane in it. Bass was tucked up in his shell and all Maura could do was sit and watch. After a while he slipped back out again, putting one foot in front of the other as he moved towards the autopsy room.

"No, Bass, stay in the nice office," she said. He crawled out the door and through the lab, forcing himself against the autopsy room door until Maura gave in and opened it for him. "You don't really want to go in here, it doesn't smell nice."

He crawled under one of the autopsy tables and settled himself down.

"I guess we'll stay here tonight."

When Jane returned she carried some wood, a packet of nails and a hammer in her hands and placed it on one of the autopsy tables.

"There you are, I thought you'd gone home."

"Bass wanted to see the autopsy room," Maura said, running a hand along the top of his shell. "What's all this?"

"I went on the internet and it said we should build him a hospital pen."

"You're going to build it?" Maura asked, a lump settling in the back of her throat. She tried to hold it back but she couldn't. Being in the office she found distractions from her worries. Now Jane was stood before her wanting to build a pen for Bass, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. "Thank you."

"Over here okay?" Jane asked, pointing to the empty space at the side of the room. Maura nodded and sat down beside Bass, watching as Jane built the pen.

The pen itself was solid enough, though the construction could leave a little to be desired. She didn't say anything, though. It didn't matter whether it was the best construction in the world or not, it served its purpose and it meant a lot that Jane would put such effort into making Bass more comfortable.

"I think we need a spot lamp and a tubular heater," said Maura, rattling through the list she'd read online the last time she considered building one. "I guess we could get a fluorescent tube as well, but we probably won't need that til morning."

"Korsak's picking them up," said Jane, placing the hammer and nails back on the autopsy table. "You get Bass in the pen and I'll sort out the lamps."

An hour later and Bass stayed in his pen. Maura sat on the floor beside it with her jacket draped across her shoulders. A chill settled through to her bones. The sacrifices she would made nothing compared to the years of happiness Bass had brought her.

"Finally, there you are," said Maura, a couple of hours later, when Jane finally remerged.

"I was picking up supplies."

Jane placed the a couple of boxes on the floor, a pizza container resting on top. Food was the last thing on her mind; she'd accidentally missed lunch and hadn't even realised. They secured the lamps to the pen and ate pizza on the floor.

"I brought something else," said Jane, emptying a garbage bag on the floor beside them. Two sleeping bags rolled out.

"Two? Are you staying all night?" Jane nodded. "Are you sure?"

"If you're here, I'm here, Maura."

She would buy Jane a card to thank her, when Bass was feeling better. Or a packet of beers. Maura wiped fresh tears from the corner of her eyes.

The lab and surrounding offices emptied leaving Jane and Maura alone in the autopsy room. The lights in the nearby corridors switched off automatically leaving them bathed in near-darkness.

"Maura," Jane said, glancing around the room, her eyes bugged.

"What is it, Jane?"

"Can we go and sleep in your office?"

"We need to stay with Bass," she said, resting her head against the small pillow of the sleeping bag.

Jane sat up, her own sleeping bag around her shoulders. "This place is creeping me out."

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to." Whilst she appreciated her being there, Maura knew she wouldn't be much company.

"I want to stay for you and Bass." Jane paused, her eyes still travelling around the room. "I don't want to stay for the creepy ghost filled autopsy room."

"There are no ghosts here, Jane." Maura sat up, too. Her whole body ached with tiredness, though her mind buzzed with worry.

"How would you know?"

She sighed. "People didn't die here."

"No, but you cut their bodies open with a scalpel and pulled out their intestines. If there's anyone they'd want to haunt it would be you."

The corners of her lips threatened to curl up, but Maura stopped them. "Don't be so ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous."

"I probably won't be sleeping tonight," she said, lying back down. "So you don't need to worry about falling asleep surrounded by ghosts."

"I thought you said I was being ridiculous."

"You are."

"Fine. I'm going to sleep. Only wake me if a ghost comes out, or if you need me."

Jane pulled the edge of her sleeping bag up around her shoulders and closed her eyes. The second sleeping bag was wrapped around Maura's shoulders. She shifted herself into a better position to see Bass, and pulled it tightly around herself. She switched her attention between Bass and Jane as time moved on until she was certain that Jane had fallen asleep.

At some point in the night Maura fell asleep, too. She didn't plan for it to happen but lying down in the dark was enough to send anyone off to sleep. She woke sometime after four. The lamps were still on. Bass's arms and legs were out of his shell, his eyes open. She smiled at how peaceful he looked. Jane dosed on the floor, her mouth open and with every exhale she let out a noisy breath. Maura climbed into the pen and sat down before Bass, she reached out and stroked the top of his head.

A sense of foreboding hit Maura square in the chest. Her whole body tensed and she struggled to intake another breath. She ran her fingers along Bass's arms and legs, lifting them gently from the floor. They felt limp and lifeless.

"Bass?" Maura let out a small cry. She analysed his eyes, the sunken skin around them made a sense of panic run through her. "Jane."

Jane whimpered a little, only waking up when Maura repeated her name.

"What is it?"

"Jane, I think something's wrong," Maura said, pawing at the tears that fell from her eyes. She couldn't do this. She couldn't sit there and watch him die. She couldn't be there if he was already gone. But she couldn't leave him.

"What's wrong, Maura?" Jane asked, holding her eyes open and trying to focus on Maura from her cocoon on the floor.

"I think." Maura choked on her tears. "I think he's gone."

Jane's whole body seemed to wither. She closed her eyes and lowered her head. Maura sat in the pen, still holding Bass's leg in her hands. A painful lump settled in the back of Maura's throat.

"He can't be," she said, her shoulders hunched, her whole body shaking as she gave in to the great gasping sobs.

"Maur, Maura," Jane said, climbing into the pen beside her and wrapping her arm around her. Maura sunk into her embrace.

"He was my best friend, I can't, I don't know what, how do I live without him?"

Jane stroked the side of her face, cupping her cheek as she sobbed against it. Maura's heart thrummed inside her chest, with each beat of the drum her heart broke apart.

When the tears subsided, Maura lay there in Jane's arms, staring at Bass. His beautiful eyes unmoving, his limbs still limp at his sides.

"I'm so sorry, Maura," said Jane, kissing the side of her head.

They lay there on the floor in silent mourning. Jane's fingers interlinked with Maura's, her whole body wrapped around her in a comforting embrace. The night faded as sunlight peered through the windows.

With the passing of time, a new day began.

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**THE END**

**Author Note: Thank you for reading my one-shot. I hope you enjoyed it.**


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